Dead and Unburied
by JibbsGal1
Summary: This is a tag to "Dead and Unburied," because I felt there was a lot of potential for an important conversation. It needed to be said, so in this - they finally talk.


A/N: Got the idea to write a tag to "Dead & Unburied" while chatting with Mrs. Elizabeth Gibbs. I was lamenting that my muse for "A Life Reclaimed" seems to be off fishing somewhere. Hope you enjoy this at least.

***JIBBS***JIBBS***JIBBS***

Jenny approached his door with trepidation. Did she really want to reopen this particular can of worms? She hated the way they left it earlier and determined that she owed him a real answer to his question. Then again, did _she _really owe him anything?

She carefully pushed open the door. The house was dark except for the light coming from the basement. Jenny sighed. Of course he was down there. She stopped at his fridge, grabbed two beers and headed for the steps with the bag of Chinese food she had brought as a peace offering.

When Gibbs heard his fridge open upstairs he became curious, but he didn't allow it to break the stride of his sanding. When he heard her heels on his stairs, he immediately knew who his intruder was. But the crinkling bag, with its promise of food, was what did him in. "Whatcha got?"

"Hunan Palace." She saw his eyes light up, letting her know so far, so good. She handed him a beer and the bag and watched as he took everything out and placed it on his workbench.

"What's on your mind, Jen?" he asked as he took the carton he wanted, some chopsticks and sat down on the nearby stool. He saw her hesitation. "That bad?"

"I didn't like how we left things this afternoon," she managed. "I thought maybe, out of the office, we could have an honest discussion."

He looked at her with confusion. "About what?"

She rolled her eyes. Of course he'd forgotten it already. It replayed in her head over and over, taunting her, and he had moved on. _Typical_.

He saw her irritation, and he almost felt guilty that it brought him pleasure. It was like the time he pretended to not remember their time in Serbia. As if he could ever forget a week where all they did was make love to each other again and again and again. But Gibbs liked keeping her off balance, not letting her know how much she really did affect him.

Jenny sighed. "Maybe this was a mistake." She started to put the food back on the workbench.

Gibbs realized he pushed her too far. He knew he had to salvage it because he was curious. "Don't go." She looked at him, surprise evident in her emerald eyes. "I want to hear what you have to say."

She relaxed a bit and nodded, taking her food back as she settled down on the other stool. She took a couple of bites as she tried to figure out how she would begin the discussion. "You asked me if knowing about Shannon and Kelly would have made a difference." She watched his reaction intently. He definitely remembered. _He's so full of shit, playing me like that. Just like the time he said he didn't remember Serbia._

He waited for her to continue but soon realized she was waiting for him. "Would it have?"

She sighed, cocking her head to the side as she looked at him. "I know I took the coward's way out, leaving you that note."

Part of him couldn't believe they were finally having this conversation. After she'd left him like that, he'd imagined them meeting again one day and having this very discussion. He wanted closure, _needed _it but had made peace with the fact that he'd never get it. Until now.

Jenny knew he had to have questions. This was never a conversation she wanted to have, would never be comfortable having… especially now that her feelings for him had returned. She had been a fool. She thought she could return to Washington and be strictly professional with him. But almost immediately she realized the spark was still there. Granted, the same problems were too so she knew to stay clear of him. That is until his accident and the coma… and learning about his past. Finally she understood him. "Jethro, I had to do it that way. It would have been too hard otherwise."

"For me or for you?"

She sighed, thinking back to what she was feeling in those last couple of days. "Both of us. You wouldn't have wanted to hear what I had to say, and I would have felt like crap having to admit it."

"Admit what?"

Jenny realized she _still_ felt like crap having to admit it. "You thought things were perfect between us because I never asked anything of you, I never pushed. But I didn't want to have to push. I wanted you to give of your heart freely. And… finally… I realized you couldn't and probably never could."

Gibbs watched her, stunned by her confession. She was right in so many ways. He did think things were perfect. When she walked away from him, he had no idea what he'd done wrong or why. He felt used, bitter and empty. He had no idea she had sensed he was holding back. "So you're saying it would have made a difference," he said, feeling a bit saddened by the information.

The moisture in Jenny's eyes stung as she slowly nodded, maintaining eye contact with him the entire time. "I may have been more patient, more understanding had I known. Instead, I thought I just wasn't enough or worse - that you weren't capable of loving me the way I knew I deserved."

He scrubbed his hand down his face, overwhelmed to finally have the answers he'd wanted for so long. "I hated you for walking away. But maybe you were smart to do it."

Jenny felt like she'd been punched in the stomach. She felt empty. "It was the hardest thing I ever had to do. I loved you."

He nodded. "I loved you too. All this time, I thought you had hurt me. I guess we hurt each other."

Jenny took a sip of her beer and looked up at the ceiling. "Yeah," she sighed.

"I didn't mean to hurt you. I… I know I should've told you about them."

Jenny was stunned, knowing that was the closest thing she would get to an apology and more than she ever expected from him. She swallowed, unsure what to say next. She looked down, trying to gather the courage to say what was on her mind. Finally she raised her eyes to his. "I have my own question."

Though nervous, he nodded for her to continue.

"Would you have wanted more? Us? A life together? Or was I just another in a line of your mistakes to soothe the pain of losing them?"

Five minutes ago, Gibbs would have never considered saying anything that would show his hand - that would let her know how much she meant to him. He had been so angry for so many years. But now everything was different. He understood her decision and didn't fault her for making it. "You weren't like the others."

The sadness in his voice and the raw honesty brought out a surprising reaction from her that she didn't anticipate. A few tears escaped and her chest became tight, making it hard to breathe. "Damn." She quickly wiped away the offending drops, embarrassed by her loss of control. She saw the confusion in his eyes. "We could have really had something, couldn't we?"

Now he understood her reaction - both verbal and physical - and it touched him just as deeply. He nodded sadly, both knowing their chance, their time, had passed.

Jenny was too overwhelmed by everything. She stood up. "I have to go," she managed as she locked eyes with him again. "Thank you." She started to walk past him, but he caught her arm and simply held it for a few seconds, infusing in his touch everything he couldn't put into words. Jenny remained perfectly still for a few moments, facing away from him. Finally she turned back to him, raising her hand to caress his cheek.

Her hand on his face healed so many hurts inside of him. He closed his eyes, drinking in her touch - knowing it would have to last a lifetime. He opened his eyes and saw the bittersweet sadness in hers.

"Goodbye, Jethro."

"Goodbye, Jen."

He watched her leave, his heart heavy with what could-have-beens. He picked up his sander and returned to his boat.


End file.
